Irrevocably
by Rainglyph13
Summary: Harry Potter's parents were dead. Yes, yes everyone knew that. Everyone knew that the famous Harry Potter's parents were dead. Irrevocably. Dead. But what if they weren't?
1. Prologue

IRREVOCABLY

Harry Potter's parents were dead. Yes, yes everyone knew that. Everyone knew that the famous Harry Potter's parents were dead. Irrevocably. Dead. But what if they weren't?

PROLOGUE

Spinner's End, July 30th:

Severus Snape stood with his back to the witch whom he had just allowed to enter his home. Even with his back to her, he could feel her piercing amber eyes watching his every move. Her dark russet hair was cut fashionably short, throwing into sharp relief her high cheekbones, and short, straight nose. She was of an average height, a little shorter than the Potions master himself, and her skin was lightly tanned. She was dressed casually in jeans and a dark green blouse. This woman's name was Esmerelda Evans, and she was Lily Evans' cousin. He hadn't seen her for years. She had been a year ahead of him in school, and he remembered her as a silly little fluff brained girl who couldn t string two coherent sentences together as she sat beside him in Potions. Surprisingly, she had become an auror after graduation, and then disappeared at almost the same time that Lily had been...killed. Snape sighed. She brought back memories he didn't wish resurrected.

Her eyes continued to watch him now, even as he paced. She exuded confidence, something he didn t remember about her from school. If anything, she had been even more backward than he.

Severus could not believe what he had been hearing, although Esmerelda had repeated herself quite a few times.

"Severus? Severus, are you even listening to me?!" asked the auror.

"Yes, yes Esmerelda! Of course I'm listening! Now go on."

"He's looking for something, Severus, and he's using the boy to help him find it." She stated slowly, allowing Severus to take in the information.

"That is ridiculous. He...would not do that. I know the man, and he is above reproach." Severus finally turned to her, pinning her with his dark eyes. She could see his barely held-in-check temper.

"He hasn't been above reproach for a long time, Severus. The Potters are..." she began, but was interrupted abruptly.

"I know the Potters are dead. You don t have to remind me of that " It was still a painful subject for him; Lily's abandonment, her marriage to Potter, their death at the hands of the Dark Lord. The miracle of their son's survival against the Dark Lord's killing curse. Snape turned away from her again to look out the window of his house into the narrow alleyway of Spinner's End.

"Severus, the Potters are not dead." Esmerelda said flatly.

What?! And suddenly, Severus world spun out of control.

A/N: This is my first attempt at something like this. Hope you like it. Please read and review, and let me know if it's worth continuing. Thanks! 


	2. Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

"Lily, not dead? Esmerelda, what kind of cruel joke are you playing? I haven't seen you for years, and suddenly you show up with an amazing story about Lily and James Potter being alive, and Albus Dumbledore being a villain. What " and here, Severus pulled his wand from his sleeve and leveled it at the red-haired witch, "what are you playing at, Esmerelda?" His voice had gone quiet and his eyes behind his leveled wand were deadly. "Has the Dark Lord sent you?"  
"Relax, Severus, and put your bloody wand away," Esmerelda spoke sharply, amusement in her eyes. Amusement! Severus did a slow burn. She smirked at him while his eyes smouldered blackly.

"I'm not the "fluff brained little idiot" who sat beside you in Potions class , Severus. I believe that s how you thought of me, wasn't it? And I believe it was you who followed the Dark Lord, not me. Now, if you ll put your wand away, I ll tell you all I know," She crossed her arms, and with one eyebrow raised, tapped her foot while she waited for him to decide what he was going to do.

It wasn't like Severus Snape to be hesitant about anything, but her statement that Lily and James Potter were alive had befuddled him. He gradually lowered his wand however, and gesturing to the chair behind her, asked her to be seated. She complied, and asked if he had any tea.

"I haven't had a good cup of English tea in nearly 15 years." Severus raised his wand again, and with a murmur, summoned a tray with a teapot and two cups upon it. Severus seated himself in the shabby chair across from hers, and waited while the tea poured itself. She took one of the cups, and sipped, smiling in pleasure. And began to tell him an incredible story. 


	3. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 3

"Alive? Lily...the Potters are alive? Esmerelda, what _are _you babbling about?" Severus sneered. He knew now it was an elaborate joke.

"Don't be an arse, Severus," the witch said impatiently. "The Potters are alive. They are living on a farm near a small town in America. I've been with them for the past 15 years. Here..." she produced a photograph, showing Lily and James, smiling rather vacantly into the camera. It was a muggle photograph...the figures did not move. And indeed, it showed two people in their mid-thirties, Potter's hair starting to thin somewhat from the tangled mass of his youth, and Lily, showing a few laugh lines around her eyes that weren't there when Severus had last seen her. He snatched the photograph from Esmerelda's hand, and stared hard at it.

"How is this possible? And the better question is, why?" Severus demanded. He could hardly tear his eyes away from Lily's image, but he pinned Esmerelda with his dark stare, and she could see the shock, and anger behind the cold eyes. She did not shrink from that look as she once might have. "The Dark Lord...the house was destroyed. There were bodies..."

"Oh, yes, there were bodies," Esmerelda said bitterly. "Friends of the family who had come to the house for the Halloween party Lily had planned. Lily and I had taken Harry Trick or Treating. James had stepped out the back door to send his patronus to fetch us when the guests showed up. Voldemort came in the front door and killed the guests." Esmerelda did not fail to see the slight flinch Severus gave when she said Voldemort's name. She smirked at his reaction.

"James came in the back door when he heard the noise, and was hit with a curse and went down. Lily and I came in with Harry, unaware of what was going on, and tripped over James on the floor. He was conscious, but badly hurt. He tried to get Lily to run with Harry, but you know Lily..." Esmerelda smiled with admiration, and shook her head at the same time.

"Indeed," Severus muttered, gesturing for her to continue her story, as he looked down at the photo still clasped in his almost nerveless hand. He had lost all semblance of sanity, it seemed, for he desperately wanted to believe Esmerelda's story. Wanted to believe that Lily was still alive somewhere in the world.

"Voldemort," Snape flinched again, "began firing curses at us, and both of us returned curse for curse. There were curses and hexes flying everywhere. Lily and I both hexed him at the same time that he threw an Avada Kedavra at us, and the curses...exploded in the middle of the room. We were all thrown backward. Voldemort...screamed, and..." Esmerelda hesitated, searching for the words. "He just...stretched kind of thin, and then disappeared in a kind of explosion. The house was half destroyed, it fell in on us. The house wards had to have notified Dumbledore, of course. My theory is that he apparated to Godrics Hollow immediately. There was no sign that Voldemort had ever been there, except the dead bodies in the other rooms, and the house collapsed around us. Lily and Harry were lying next to James, Harry screaming his head off, and bleeding profusely from his head. Lily was...injured," here she shuddered, making Severus wonder at the nature of Lily's injuries.

"Continue," he prodded, his voice as dark as his eyes. Esmerelda shrugged off the chill that had suddenly swept over her, and casting a glance at him, nodded.

"There's not much left to tell. I was dazed...I'd hit my head on the floor. I can't be sure, but I think I remember Dumbledore coming in the back door, sizing up the situation, and snatching Harry from Lily's arms. It was all very dreamlike, and yet, almost as though he had planned everything in advance. There was noise, and smoke, and when he came back into the room, everything went black.

"James, Lily and I woke up somewhere else, with other lives...other memories." Esmerelda shrugged, grimacing. "It's taken me years to realize what happened, to realize our memories were obliviated. James and Lily...they still haven't remembered."

"And, why, after all this time, have you returned?" Severus asked in his low silky voice. Esmerelda suppressed a shiver. Even after all this time, his voice still had the same effect on her.

"Since I've regained my right mind, I've been keeping up with what's been happening here. Even in the States, Voldemort's return has been news. Harry's name kept popping up in the news articles, especially after the Triwizard Tournament. Dumbledore is using Harry for something he wants very badly, and I intend to make sure he doesn't get it."

A/N- Sorry for the long delay. This chapter fought me, and I'm still not happy with it, but here it is anyway.

By the way, I am not JKR, and I don't own any of this except Esmerelda, and what little plot there is. Please review! Thanks!


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